What Lies Underneath
by Lucky OCB
Summary: Nigel's hiding something, and Taranee wants to know what. But what she and Nigel don't know is that the truth...may hurt them. Set 9-11 years after Season 2. Not related to any of my previous WITCH fics.


**What Lies Underneath**

_**Disclaimer ~ **__I do not own WITCH or its characters. OCs belong to me._

_**A/N – **_**This story has no relation to any of my previous WITCH fanfictions. Set 9 years after Z is for Zenith. Please note that Fanfiction sometimes cuts out some of the words in my stories when I upload them. I'm not sure why, but until I figure it out, just let me know if something in the story doesn't sound right, and I'll fix it.**

**Chapter 1 – The Past**

_Sixteen Years Ago..._

Eight-year-old Nigel Mark Ashcroft never thought twice about his family being rich, nor did his parents. They managed their money well and went on with life, trying to keep it as normal as possible. They never thought that anyone would hold a grudge against them because of their money. Let alone did they suspect a relative to. Nina and Nicolas Ashcroft hated being on someone's bad side, and had made absolutely sure they gave no one reason to dislike them. That's why they thought it was safe to let Uncle Jerome babysit.

" Here we are, Aunt Sharri and Uncle Jerome's!" Nicolas said as he stepped out of the SUV. " It'll be nice to see little Jer again!" Nina helped Nigel out of his car seat. " Now, Nic, you know he hates being called that." Nicolas laughed. " Yeah, but I'm his big brother, I'm supposed to call him that!" Nigel giggled as they walked up to the front porch. Sharri opened the door. " Oh, Jerome, they're here!" She exclaimed. " Hey there, little tike , you've gotten bigger since we last saw you!" Jerome came up behind her. Nigel couldn't help but notice the angry look in his eyes. " It's only been 2 months, Sharron," he said flatly. Sharri mumbled, " He's still grown." Her face lit up. " Well, don't just stand there sweety, come on in!"

" But what about Mommy and Daddy?" Nigel questioned as he looked up at his parents, who both shared the same russet red hair he had. " We have to go to a meeting sweetheart, we'll pick you up in an hour." Nigel nodded and took Aunt Sharri's hand. Sharri looked up, " What about Daniel?" " He's at a friend's house." Sharri nodded and led Nigel inside, waving goodbye to Nina and Nicolas as Jerome closed the door. Nigel sat down at the small dining table and waited for the milk and cookies Sharri always gave him. " Oh, dear, I'm sorry, we're out of milk..." Sharri said, walking in with an empty milk jug, " Jerome, could you watch him while I go get some milk?" Jerome nodded, but Nigel seemed to be the only one to notice how reluctantly he did so. He also could have sworn that angry glare he'd seen earlier had been directed towards him.

As Sharri closed the door behind her, Nigel looked up at his uncle. " Uncle Jay, are you mad at me?" He asked, the sound of shifting gravel filling his ears as Sharri pulled out of the driveway. Jerome was uncomfortably silent for a moment. Then he stepped forward towards Nigel. " It's not you my boy..." he grabbed Nigel by the front of his shirt, " It's you _and your father!_" Nigel screamed as his uncle threw him against the wall. His head hit it with a loud thud. After that, all he could remember was his uncle walking up to him, his fists raised and what looked like a metal baseball bat in his hand...

" _Nigel? Nigel, honey, it's Mommy, you need to wake up now.."_There was distress in his mother's voice. He always was able to tell a person's emotions quite well. He could feel his father's hand holding the one Mom didn't have a hold on, and he could hear Sharri's upset voice in the background. " I find it seriously hard to believe he could have done this..." she sobbed.

_The next day..._

" Why did Uncle Jay do it, Daddy?" Nigel asked in a week voice. " I don't know, son, I just don't know." Nigel had been lucky. He'd come so close to dying that it wasn't even remotely funny. Yet the police still let Jerome go. They knew in their guts what he'd done, but they didn't have enough evidence.

They were missing something, and they weren't sure what it was...all they knew was that it was important.

**Woah. That's sort of harsh. And mysterious. That Uncle has got some serious issues!I won't be updating this for a while, because I need to focus on starting Sylla's Secret back up, as I'm sure you're all happy to for the short chapter. Well tell me what you guys think! R & R !**


End file.
